Zhu Chuan took Chu Li for a stroll in City C for a few days, eating and drinking. During these days, Zhu Guxuan never mentioned the fact that Zhu Chuan was a black ghostwriter. No one knew what he was thinking, and Zhu Chuan was not very clear either - but after the direct argument that night, he was too lazy to continue to argue about this matter with Zhu Guxuan, and just regarded his trip back as a vacation with Chu Li.

After the "Hungry Wolf Declaration" that was posted, Zhuchuan's Weibo fell silent again, but this does not mean that those haters will let him go——

On Sunday afternoon, a new "black spot" was exposed on the Internet. Someone checked the sales volume of "Luohe Divine Book" (*total sales volume in Jiuhua Bookstores nationwide), and found that the total sales volume so far is only about 120,000. As the main sales channel for physical books, Jiuhua Bookstores only sell this number. In other words, the sales volume of "Luohe Divine Book" is actually far from the "first print sales of one million" that was boasted at the time!

People on the Internet were shocked again: Wow, how shameless of you to brag about your sales!

"It's obvious that someone in the industry wants to mess with you," Chu Li lay on Zhu Chuan's back, hugging his neck. Zhu Chuan lay on the bed, playing with his phone. The two of them were stacked on top of each other happily, with Chu Li's face pressed against Zhu Chuan's. "How can ordinary people know what to check for Kaijuan? And he obviously knows that the sales volume of physical books will definitely be exaggerated to form a black spot, so he checks this thing - this is very common in the industry. Almost every author tacitly advertises the sales volume, but readers don't know."

"Who?" asked Zhuochuan.

"It's probably someone who's not happy that you won the award," Chu Li touched his face, "someone who hates you."

"That's a lot." Zhu Chuan sneered, "Let's see what he has to say tonight. I guess there will be some sequels..."

And the facts prove that Zhaochuan is indeed a crow-mouthed person.

In the evening, the sequel appeared as expected - this time it was an audio interview, and both the interviewer and the interviewee used voice changers with funny effects...

【Interviewer A: Hey, big brother, long time no see. Can you tell me about the bloody incident involving the famous writer Zhu Chuan on the Internet? 】

[Interviewee B: I’ve heard about this as well… I don’t know if it was ghostwritten or not, after all, there’s no solid evidence, right? But the sales volume, hehehehehehe…]

【Interviewer A: Is this really a lie? 】

[Interviewee B: Yes, the first print run of The Divine Book of Luo River was only about 300,000. I don’t know the exact number. I heard it from my friends. It’s not as exaggerated as Yuanyue Publishing House claims… The overall physical book market is declining now. You don’t know how badly this industry is in decline. How could a book with sales of more than one million appear? It’s impossible.]

【Interviewer A: What are you hinting at? 】

[Interviewee B: Hehehe, I didn’t say anything! ]

[Interviewer A: Wasn’t “The Divine Book of Luo River” ranked first in sales rankings on certain online stores and certain online stores?]

【Interviewee B: That list can be purchased. 】

[Interviewee B: What’s more, it was the best-selling book for 24 hours. Think about it, if your book was the only one on sale that day, and the other books had been sold for a long time, and the sales volume was only seven or eight a day, how could you not be the first? Even if you only sold 20 copies, you would still be the first. This kind of place where you can’t see the sales volume is the easiest to fake.]

【Interviewer A: But the pre-sale volume on Taobao is amazing. 】

[Interviewee B: That estimate is true. A large part of the purchasing power is concentrated on Taobao, so other e-commerce companies should also have some purchasing power diverted away... In short, the first print run of "Luohe Divine Book" is about 300,000, and there will be no more. ]

【Interviewer A: What is the significance of boasting about sales volume? 】

[Interviewee B: It creates the illusion that the book is very popular, attracting readers who follow the trend and buy it. The most important point is to attract copyright holders. If your book is popular, game, movie and TV IP developers will come to you to buy it. How can the price of a transparent thing be the same as a popular thing, right? It can't be the same. With the hype of "The Book of Luo River", if you don't have 4 or 5 million, Zhu Chuan may not even bother to talk to you about the copyright of games and movies and TV series...]

【Interviewer A: Isn’t this a lie? 】

[Interviewee B: It’s a market effect. Is this considered cheating? ]

[Interviewee B: Is this a black spot? I think it’s okay. Compared to ghostwriting, this kind of thing is nothing to be surprised about…]

【Interviewer A: We just want to find out from all aspects whether Mr. Chuan is a person who likes to cheat.】

[Interviewee B: Okay, okay, that makes sense.]

【Interviewer A: Thank you for accepting the interview. 】

[Interviewee B: It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. I’m also paying attention to this matter. I have nothing to do but to do it.]

The interview ends here.

Chu Li and the person holding the phone exchanged a glance. Chu Li was about to say something but stopped. Zhu Chuan said, "Wait."

As he spoke, the man lowered his head and pressed a button on his phone, using the software to play the background music of "Detective Conan". He then extended his hand and made a "please" gesture to Chu Li: "Please start your performance."

Chu Li: "Among all walks of life, the people who like to call authors "teacher" the most are definitely those in the publishing industry. The interviewer just now almost called you "Teacher Zhuchuan"; and the person being interviewed knew a lot about your book, and he started by saying that it was worth more than 300,000 yuan. Although he deliberately blurred the specific number, he used the number "30" without hesitation, which shows that he was very sure of the truth of this matter; then, he mentioned the IP copyright developers. It seemed that he accidentally mentioned the powerful relationship, but in fact he was also reminding those developers not to use such a high price to get the copyright from you, which shows that he knew very well where the biggest harm of this matter would be to you..."

Chu Chuan: “So?”

Chu Li: "While criticizing you, the interviewee also criticized The Lost Amusement Park, which just had its first print run sold over a million copies. After all, it's the only best-selling book recently. There is only one truth. The interviewee didn't just criticize you. He seemed to be targeting Yuanyue Publishing House as well. Or maybe I was here..."

Zhuochuan: “Conclusion?”

Chu Li: "There is only one truth: the interviewee is using a voice changer. I might as well end this - I am Lao Miao, an out-of-date editor who was just kicked out of Yuanyue Society. What I said above is all true, please believe me!"

Zhuchuan: “…”

Chu Li: "These dogs are really dead and still want to spread the poison to hate you... As soon as they see a chance to take revenge, they will come over and step on you."

Chu Li frowned and reached out to call the phone in Zhu Chuan's hand: "That's all, turn off the BGM. It doesn't matter if you want to make a fuss or not, why do you still have the heart to make a fuss at this time?"

Hirokawa smiled and turned off the background music of "Detective Conan". He checked his WeChat account and saw that it had exploded because of the interview video. A new wave of "bargaining", "low-price cooperation", "your product is not worth that much money, we need to reconsider our cooperation" and other storms appeared again...

It looked like another night of millions of dollars lost.

Zhuochuan turned off his phone, lowered his eyes, and thought for a moment: "What shall we eat tonight?"

Chu Li held his face with one hand and said listlessly: "Whatever."

Zhuo Chuan: "Eat hot pot. How can you not eat hot pot when you come to City C?"

Chu Li didn't say anything. The man reached out and pinched the tip of her nose: "Say something."

Chu Li: "I just want to explode."

Chu Chuan smiled and said, "I haven't exploded yet. Why are you worrying about my bank card depreciation before you even marry me? You are very prepared, my friend."

Chu Li raised her eyelids and glared at Zhu Chuan. Seeing that he was smiling as if nothing serious happened, her frown relaxed a little, and she was dragged out by him to have dinner...

…

The "sales fraud" incident that broke out on Sunday was a "trust crisis storm" for Zhuchuan.

The readers who were kept in the dark easily equated "faking sales" with "ghostwriting" based on the guidance of the two people in the interview audio, and completely pushed Zhao Chuan into the chair of "falsehood" and nailed him to death...

During the process, some people stood up and said that bragging about sales volume is a very common thing in the physical book industry, and every author will do it - but there are only so many people working in the physical book industry, and among them, there are only a handful of fans of Chu Chuan who are willing to stand up and speak for him. Compared with those who are easily defined by public opinion, they are quickly drowned out in the crowd...

Yuanyueshe, as the main promoter who exaggerated the sales volume, was also criticized. It was even more difficult for it to stand up and speak for Zhuchuan at this time.

Zhuo Chuan also remained silent. After returning to City G from City C, he simply stayed at home.

Weibo is still updating serialized articles as usual, but the number of reposts and comments has visibly decreased, as if some people are really unfollowing me. Occasionally, I will receive comments: Did you write the things you updated now? I can't read it properly when I think about this;

The copyright negotiation for "Luohe Divine Book" has also come to a standstill. According to the usual practice, all copyrights are sold out within two months of finishing a book. Now, it has been almost half a year, and all copyrights are still in my hands. I have only two choices: sell them at a low price or let them rot in my hands...

Chu Chuan didn't say anything on the surface, but he knew in his heart that he had reached the lowest point in his career.

If he had been able to view all the black things as a farce, and nothing could cause him any real harm—

Well now we have it.

What is the most important thing for an author?

It is the reader.

An author can be questioned, slandered, or accept that his creative inspiration has dried up and he needs to start over again to break through the bottleneck. But what is the most unbearable thing for an author?

Probably due to doubts from readers.

Writing is actually simply telling the story you want to tell to the people who want to hear it. The author can just laugh off the bad words "bad writing", "not good to read" or "boring" that some people say are "bad writing", but what the author can't stand is probably the real readers turning away.

Although it is just a simple relationship between writing and reading articles, people still care about it. When a familiar reader leaves a comment like "I am disappointed in you" and walks away, perhaps this reader even thinks that the author will not see his comment.

But the author will actually see it.

What awaits the author may even be a day of depression or reflection.

When there are more and more comments like this.

More and more readers are leaving.

The number of people affected by the rumors is growing.

Substantial damage has occurred.

It has reached a point where we can no longer sit back and do nothing.

But what can be done? Sadly, nothing can be done.

When a person is destined to be the target of public criticism, everything he says seems to be wrong: someone may even ask you, if you didn't do it, why do you make so many excuses?

Ultimately, people are struggling over whether "Eastern Charming Records" is his first work. If so, why is it that a person is born with a mature writing style and technique?

All the slander on the Internet can be quelled by handing over the manuscripts of the real "debut" that were once shelved.

Unfortunately, this thing happens to be the knot that cannot be touched on the road of writing for Chu Chuan.

Because of this book, he vowed not to write romance anymore, and all his subsequent works were about male protagonists.

Because of this book, he and his father were at loggerheads. He never showed his works to his father again, and even when his works were not so popular at the beginning, he refused to ask Chu Guxuan to write a recommendation for them.

He even refused Yuanyue Society to use the words "Zhou Guxuan recommended" in its promotion, which were so understated that no one cared whether they were true or not...

So in the end, Chu Chuan chose to remain silent.

…

Four days passed in a flash.

For many people who just watched the drama, this incident was almost forgotten. They turned to their own lives, work, and studies. The topic of conversation after dinner also changed from "Zhuchuan ghostwriting" to other entertainment gossips.

However, the questioning and slanderous messages they had left on Zhao Chuan's Weibo remained.

The room was filled with the smell of tobacco and beer cans piled up like a small mountain in front of the door... Every day when Chuli got home from get off work, she would carry a bag of cans to the community garbage station to throw them away, day after day, until one day the garbage collector who was waiting for cans couldn't stand it anymore: "Little girl, why are there so many bottles in your house every day? Is there someone drinking heavily? You need to persuade them, long-term alcoholism is not good, my eldest son got sick from alcoholism--"

Under the sunlight, Chu Li's heart ached as she was holding the garbage bag.

It was as if someone reached into her chest, grabbed her heart, and then squeezed and twisted it hard.

The most hateful thing was that she didn't know what she could do at this moment, from the initial persuasion to the subsequent silence... Chu Li dragged numb steps back home, and the door was always closed.

This reminded Chu Li of a time long ago, when they were not together yet, when Zhechuan also locked himself in his room because he was in a bad mood and played "Lost River" and "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau"... At that time, he was at most mourning, but not close to death.

Chu Li arrived outside the door, stopped, counted with his fingers, and knocked on the door.

"Zhuchuan."

…

"Zhuchuan, open the door."

…

"Zhuchuan, can you come out and talk to me?"

…

"Zhuchuan..."

With a click, as the voice of the person outside the door gradually became choked with sobs, the door was finally opened... The person inside had bloodshot eyes and an untidy beard. He showed his face from behind the crack of the door, glanced at the person outside the door who was bowing his head, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Why are you crying again."

With a sigh in his voice, he reached out and wiped her tears with his tobacco-scented fingertips.

"Don't cry, it's not a big deal." The man's voice was very calm. "I haven't been in any trouble these days. I just can't figure out some things. It's strange to think about it. I have been writing seriously for so many years, and my fans who claim to like me have turned against me easily because of some unfounded rumors without any evidence. They complain to everyone that they have liked an author who is not worth liking for so many years..."

Chu Li looked up at the man blankly, watching his lips open and close, and suddenly she was frightened——

"So, I've thought about it. It seems meaningless. Why not just not write it?"

He still said the most horrible words.

If she were to ask what she was thinking at the time, Chu Li found that the so-called "blackness in front of her eyes" was really not just talk. She felt a breath stuck in her chest and couldn't breathe it out or swallow it down. She almost forgot how to breathe normally.

The tears stopped flowing.

She just stared at Zhuchuan blankly.

"Zhu, Zhuchuan, I know you don't want a personal editor, you don't want anyone to be responsible for your writing career plan, and you don't trust anyone..." Chu Li's brain was almost empty, "But just once, just this once, can you trust me once?"

She reached out and carefully took the man's hand.

My fingertips are cool.

Large drops of transparent liquid fell on the back of his hand—

"Anyway, it can't get any worse. Just give me the draft and let me try... let's try." Chu Li lowered her head and burst into tears. "I will do my best to make it a success. I will use all my resources and all my connections. Even if I can't be an editor after this, I am willing."

The air fell silent.

Drops of water slid down the back of the man's hand and dripped onto the ground.

The little girl standing in front of him cried until her legs went limp and she fell to the ground, her hand still tightly grasping his index finger, as if she was grasping at the last straw...

Zhao Chuan never thought that his casual words would have such a great impact on another person...

It was as if the sky had fallen down.

Such an intense fear and anxiety that could shake the earth and make the mountains collapse.